This application relates to U.S. Pat No. 4938403 to the present Applicant Cortelli, which issued Jul. 3, 1990.
The present invention, like that in U.S. Pat. No. 4938403, relates to devices for enhancing the durability and freight handling capacity of pickup trucks.
Pickup trucks are commonly used to transport small amounts of freight over short distances. A pickup truck bed, which holds the freight, is typically a rectangular box-like shape with an open top. A wall of the bed furthest from the truck's passenger compartment is referred to as a tailgate. It can be unlatched from the bed's side walls and pivoted downwardly from a vertical to a horizontal position.
When the tailgate is horizontal or "flat", freight can be easily loaded over it and onto the bed. When the tailgate is raised to its upright position and latched to the side walls, it secures the freight within the bed by preventing rearward movement as the truck is operated.
Occasionally, the pickup truck operator has to transport articles that are longer than the bed. Typical examples are canoes, rowboats, ladders, boards and other long or bulky items. Usually one end of such an article is placed in the bed, next to the passenger compartment. The other end protrudes beyond the tailgate. In order to prevent the article from sliding out of the bed, the gate is kept raised and a rear portion of the article rests on top of it. This arrangement causes the article to rest in an angular alignment, with its center of gravity well within the truck's bed. Consequently, the possibility of its sliding rearwardly, out of the truck, during transportation is significantly decreased.
Unfortunately, placing large articles on top of an upright tailgate causes problems. First, tailgates are not designed as weight bearing structures in that position. Because the articles of freight are not lying flat, a great deal of weight is brought to bear against the top edge of the tailgate. Persistent use of a tailgate in that manner causes excessive wear. Second, when freight is resting on an upright tailgate, the tailgate cannot be pivoted downward without great difficulty. Therefore, the volume of the bed between the freight and the floor of the bed cannot be efficiently utilized. If additional freight were stored there, the article resting on the tailgate's top edge would have to be removed to allow the tailgate to pivot open in order to gain access to that freight.
Devices have been developed that afford protection to the top edge of the tailgate when it is used to support freight. Most of these devices, however, are designed to be affixed to the tailgate. Therefore, they do not allow the tailgate to be opened and closed without moving the supported freight. Additionally, many of these devices are of a semi-permanent nature, utilizing bolts and nuts for securing a support member that transverses the top edge of the tailgate. They do not afford rapid assembly and disassembly for temporary use during transportation of oversized freight. Therefore, they remain in place, subject to wear and accidental disassembly during normal pickup truck use.
Accordingly, it is the primary object of the present invention to provide a freight stacking support apparatus which supports oversized freight above a tailgate of a pickup truck, so that the tailgate can be opened or closed without lifting the supported freight.
It is a general object to provide a freight stacking support apparatus that may be easily and rapidly assembled for supporting oversized freight above a tailgate of a pickup truck and which can be readily disassembled.
It is a more specific object to provide a freight stacking support apparatus with a simple locking mechanism, which permits a support beam to be easily secured or released, in seconds.
It is a further object to provide an apparatus which is extremely economical in design, yet safe and efficient.